For about a year, the 68-year-old Franklin Township woman couldn't get to her favorite summer destination — the Rudolf W. van der Goot Rose Garden, which had undergone a major renovation.

"Those summer days really dragged by," she said. "You don't realize what you have until it's gone."

Fischer won't have to worry about that this summer. The garden, at Colonial Park in the East Millstone section of Franklin Township, officially reopened Saturday.

Fischer, and the 80,000 people who visit the garden each year, will now be able to enjoy overhauled walkways, new landscaping and more roses.

The $604,000 renovation also replaced the rose garden’s arbors and irrigation system.

But what matters most to Fischer is the one-acre county-operated garden is back. She isn’t the only one who feels that way, said Ray Brown, secretary director of the Somerset County Parks Commission.

"People were constantly asking us, 'When are we going to get our park back?' " he said.

With more than 3,000 roses and 325 varieties, the van der Goot garden is considered by some rose afficionados to be one of the top rose gardens in the state, and it is a popular choice for wedding photo shoots.

It is also one of two rose gardens in New Jersey accredited by All-America Rose Selections, a nationwide nonprofit association of rose growers. The state’s other accredited garden is the Andrew M. Stellwag Sr. Memorial Rose Garden in Delran in Burlington County.

"We get people from all 50 states, as well as Canada, England, France, Germany and Australia," said Jeffrey Van Pelt, horticulture supervisor for the Somerset County Parks Commission.

He said most visitors come to the secluded area to relax in a peaceful and calm environment.

Technically, the garden had been open since the fall, but snow weather shut it during the winter, Van Pelt said.

The one-year closure was needed to repair a tattered walkway that posed a safety hazard. Construction workers replaced the walkway by hand to avoid disturbing the roses, Van Pelt said, and bricks for the walkway were brought in on wheelbarrows.

He said 800 more roses were planted this spring as a result of the project, which added 1,000 square feet in planting space.

The renovation — the first major project there since the fragrance garden was added in the 1980s — took half a year longer than expected, said Brown.

But with no further changes to the garden expected anytime soon, van der Goot garden lovers won’t have to worry about another lengthy separation.